The military installation has been reduced to 6.4 acres on Seawall Boulevard and includes nine buildings that once housed officers.
Photo: Nick De La Torre

The military installation has been reduced to 6.4 acres on Seawall...

The old fort site was sold in 2000 to a private company, which says offers to build on it have been stymied by the deed clause requiring that the property be preserved.
Photo: Nick De La Torre

The old fort site was sold in 2000 to a private company, which says...

Fort Crockett was founded by the Army for artillery training and coastal defense. The National Marine Fisheries Service now occupies 10 buildings, and the San Luis Hotel now stands on the site of one of the original batteries.
Photo: Nick De La Torre

A vehicle leaves the Fort Crockett location of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offices in Galveston.
Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Texas Historical Commission will decide next week whether they will pursue an appeal to try and save Galveston's historic Fort Crockett from developers who want it turned into a money making resort.

The former army barracks sits on valuable sea front property and has been at the center of a tug-of-war for over a decade, with the State arguing owners must honor a deed restriction saying the buildings must be preserved, and owners keen to sell for maximum commercial gain.

In the latest twist, District Judge John Ellisor dismissed the State's case saying the wording of the deed restriction was unenforceable and void.

He also lifted a restraining order which prevented demolision leaving the door open for the buildings to be knocked down once and for all.

Lawyers for Max Bowen Enterprises and Juan Hijo Investments who bought the property from the Federal Govt. in 2000 say they've made no decision on demolision yet and it's likely they will wait until after the Historical Commission meeting on January 23rd to make up their mind.

If the Commission decides to withdraw, developers will be free to do what they like with the 6.4 acre plot, the largest on the sea front, and any sign of the barracks could be wiped out.

Stand-off

"Every deal we've tried to make has fallen through," says J. Douglas Sutter, attorney for the owners of the Fort which was built in 1897 for coastal artillery training and harbor defense.

They say three different contracts were put forward with potential developers proposing to save some, but maybe not all, of the 9 buildings on the site.

"There is no doubt they could have negotiated with us, but they wanted all or nothing." Mr. Sutter said, "Preserving all 9 buildings would cost more than the land is worth."

The Historical Commission did not comment on that point today, and details of previous contracts remain confidentional, but fellow historian W. Dwayne Jones, Executive Director of the Galveston Historical Foundation says, as he understood it, the owners were just as uncompromising.

"There is a whole lot that could be done there, historic buildings do not have to be museums," says Jones arguing it is not unrealistic the Fort be preserved, "There can be real success in adapting them economically."

Unenforceable and Void

Jones says he is surprised at Judge Ellisor's decision that the deed restriction be unenforcible and therefore void.

It makes up 7 paragraphs of the deed and clearly reads, "The structures situated on said property will be preserved and maintained in accordance with plans approved in writing by the Texas State Preservation Officer," and that "No physical or structural changes...will be made to the exterior..or interior features...without written approval of the SHPO."

"Those are very consistent with covenants that are placed on buildings transfers all around the country," said W. Dwayne Jones, "It is surprising that this judge would see something that hasn't been seen by anyone else."

Lawyers for the owners say the language is vague because there are no definitions of what is meant by "preserved" and "maintained".

They also question the historical significance of all 9 buildings pointing out that some were built in the 1930s.

Eyesore

While some doubt the historical value of the site, no-one doubts the sorry state of it. The owners claim they have spent $800,000 on repairs but by the time the court case started complaints were pouring in.

"There have been vagrants and debris around the fences and it's just an eyesore," Gary Schero, President of the Denver Court Neighborhood Association told the Chronicle back in 2011. "It's an unsafe place and it's adjacent to our neighborhood and it's a concern."

At the Historical Foundation those thoughts are echoed, "The community have grown weary, they're frustrated that this has gone on so long and that they couldn't come up with a compromise."

The Historical Commission maintain the site is of great importance saying in a statement:

"Fort Crockett is historically significant for its role as a coastal defense installation and training center on the Texas and gulf coasts from 1897 until World War II. The buildings are all that remain of the fort founded by the Army 115 years ago and named after Davy Crockett, who died defending the Alamo."

We will find out on January 23rd if they are significant enough for another, potentially year long, legal battle.